Newcastle Knights recall 2001 grand final glory

[Gronk]

Newcastle Knights recall 2001 grand final glory


BRETT KEEBLE
01 Oct, 2011 04:00 AM
TEN years after they blew Parramatta off ANZ Stadium to win the 2001 NRL grand final, the architects of Newcastle’s premiership triumph were still laughing about it.Captain and Churchill medallist Andrew Johns, back-rower Ben Kennedy and coach Michael Hagan sat on stage alongside recently retired Adam MacDougall at the Once-A-Knight Old Boys grand final lunch at Mayfield yesterday and recalled the night fun beat fear.
Exactly 10 years to the day since they shocked the highly fancied Eels 24-0 in the first half en route to a 30-24 victory in the NRL’s first night grand final, the 2001 premiers were reunited.
Only Danny Buderus and Josh Perry (both still playing in England), Timana Tahu (holidaying in the US) and Steve Simpson (working) were missing from the team who secured the club’s first unified premiership four years after they pipped Manly in the ARL title decider.
Tahu will return to play for the Knights next year and Buderus is at short odds to join him.
Centre and master of ceremonies Mark Hughes remembered how ‘‘nervous and stiff’’ the Parramatta players looked at the grand final breakfast in their ‘‘Miami Vice black suits’’.
Hagan said the Knights stuck to their regular weekly routine but the Eels, coached by Brian Smith, headed for the south coast for a midweek camp and ‘‘looked pretty uptight’’.
‘‘They came into the game under a shitload of pressure but for us, it was just a good time and a heap of fun. Parra were shitting themselves and we were having a good time,’’ Kennedy said.
Kennedy said returning to Ausgrid Stadium, known then as Marathon, in the early hours of Monday morning to 15,000 screaming fans was ‘‘one of the best times I’ve ever had in my life’’.
Johns described the 2001 season as ‘‘one of the most enjoyable years I ever played’’.
‘‘It was a business but it was fun, and that’s the way we played,’’ Johns said.
‘‘It was a dream come true to represent your state and your country, but to win a comp with the players you play all year with, and to captain the only team you ever wanted to play for to a premiership, it doesn’t get any better than that.
‘‘You form a bond with blokes that will last forever.’’
One of just five Knights to have played in the grand final wins of 1997 and 2001, humble back-rower Bill Peden scored two tries against the Eels and famously played down his role, saying afterwards: ‘‘The sun even shines on a dog’s bum sometimes.
‘‘They were both special for different reasons,’’ Peden said yesterday of the two premierships.
‘‘In 1997 it was special because it was the first one ... and all the emotion involved with that, but 2001 had its own emotions attached to it in terms of being a unified premiership and we were challenged on the fact that 1997 wasn’t.
‘‘I was lucky to have played in two great sides. You look at the blokes sitting here today and you have to pinch yourself to think you actually played with those blokes, so I was very blessed.’’
Prop Matt Parsons added: ‘‘They weren’t just great players, they’re great blokes, and they were terrific blokes to play with.’’

http://www.theherald.com.au/news/lo...01-grand-final-glory/2309752.aspx?storypage=0

 

[hineyrulz]

I remember sitting at home at halftime completely shellshocked, most of my mates stopped giving me grief at about 18 zip. I still reckon if Bobcat doesn't get held up we go on to win that game.

 

[Gronk]

Parra were shitting themselves

Me too.

 

[hineyrulz]

Me too.

Me 3

 

[Parramatta1947]

It was like the Prelim vs the Cows in 2005 - I honestly was sitting there thinking this isn't happening, it must be a dream that I will wake up from. It was painful to sit through halftime next to Kinghts supporters who carried on and had the IQ between them the same as a seagull. They were up 18-0 and they still whinged about everything.

 

[Tyler Durden]

Perfect first half of footy from the Knights where they ran all their big boppers through Jason Taylor. But we did win the second half 24-6, and more incredible since we only scored our first points in the 60th minute.

What really sucks is that Michael Hagan can call himself a premiership winning coach.

If anyone wants to relive the horror, I believe Fox are replaying the 2001 GF this weekend.

 

[jono]

Why is this thread even in here? It have cost me $10000 worth of therapy to say " I cannot change the result of the 2001 Grand Final...."

 

[El Eels]

another 5 minutes and that gf was ours...

FFS.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Arrggh dont remind us.

Cant remember exactly who it was but there was a silly pass from our 2nd set, got Newcastle possession close to our line and scored straight after.

It goes back to mentality. A friend of mine told me this the other day, he reckoned Newcastle looked so pump a lot of the players had been there before. Parramatta looked nervous, players didnt say a word. The fact that they got there was a relief, first time in 11 years. I remember the Broncos Preliminary Final, we looked so ordinary at times and at one stage thought we'd get beat.

It was a huge relief winning that game but thought we'd have to play a lot better in the big one.

Unfortunately we didnt.

Half time was the worst half time I ever experienced, so many of us were shocked, how can we come back from this?

 

[TheParraboy]

One thing that never gets mentioned and is a big contributor IMO. The 2001 GF was played at 8pm kick off. We played our finals games at 3pm daytime. Knights played their semis during the night. We just simply couldnt adjust to the new timeslot and it showed in the first half of the grand final by having that extra nervous energy built up. Uncharasteristic errors cost us. When we settled and found our rythem it was too late

 

[parra pete]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but imo P J Marsh should have started, and Taylor come from the bench. Even my two year old grandson knew the Knights would target Taylor in defence in the opening stages...

 

[J-sin]

Statistically wise we were the best team ever that year, so many records were broken eg. Most points by a team in a season, least points conceded in a season, best for and against (obviously) and I remember so many games that we put 50 plus points on the opposition. And to have it all end like then was heart-breaking.
Personally I think we lost it in the week's build up to that GF, Parra thought they only had to turn up and it would just happen. There was so much celebration going on during the week in Parramatta, I remember Church St, every light pole had Eels flags and Banners on them and all us fans just expected that we would win. I also think that Brian Smith would of taken the intensity in the team to a whole new level that week which didn't allow the players to enjoy the week.

 

[The EELiminator]

One thing that never gets mentioned and is a big contributor IMO. The 2001 GF was played at 8pm kick off. We played our finals games at 3pm daytime. Knights played their semis during the night. We just simply couldnt adjust to the new timeslot and it showed in the first half of the grand final by having that extra nervous energy built up. Uncharasteristic errors cost us. When we settled and found our rythem it was too late

i remember that ridiculous timeslot i was at my uncles house watching the lower grades then i had to sit through 60 minutes (thanks nine for the images of canadian junkies showing their needle holes while i was eating) before the main game started

 

[J-sin]

One thing that never gets mentioned and is a big contributor IMO. The 2001 GF was played at 8pm kick off. We played our finals games at 3pm daytime. Knights played their semis during the night. We just simply couldnt adjust to the new timeslot and it showed in the first half of the grand final by having that extra nervous energy built up. Uncharasteristic errors cost us. When we settled and found our rythem it was too late

Yeah, now they've got it the other way around, all the Finals are played at night but the GF is played in daylight.

 

[The EELiminator]

and haven't the knights gone on from strength to strength after winning the premiership, they.......hmmm..........lets see.................:-k

 

[parraparraparra]

Most heartbreaking game in my memory

 

[The EELiminator]

Most heartbreaking game in my memory

i dunno is it more heartbreaking to be shut out of a game or be ahead by 20 and get run down in the 2nd half? :-k they both suck that's for sure

 

[The Engineers Room]

Knights got a little help from Harrigan but a great effort to get within a try of forcing extra time in the end. Both 2001 and 2009 was lost due to early nerves. When we make it again we need to score first or at least stop the opposition from scoring early.

 

[PJ Marshal]

i cant beleive we lost to a team with sean rudder at 5/8 that shits me , f**king ranga

 

[GongPanther]

Statistically wise we were the best team ever that year, so many records were broken eg. Most points by a team in a season, least points conceded in a season, best for and against (obviously) and I remember so many games that we put 50 plus points on the opposition

And going by this you should have had the Knights on toast for a hiding.

But if one learns by mistakes,and after this one rightly so,it wont happen again.

If that was Penrith getting hammered like that at half-time,I would have turned the TV off.

But to Parra's credit,they did an amazing fight-back and it would have been the greatest comebacks since God knows if theywould have pulled it off.:shock: